Subcontracting
Whoever subcontracts becomes the consignor; the subcontractor is the actual carrier.
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Regulation
Deadlines, technical requirements and what the obligation means for your sector.
Deadlines and legislation
- 2012
Regulation FOM/2861/2012
Basis of the obligation: the mandatory document for administrative control in public road freight transport is introduced.
- 09/2025
Law 9/2025 on Sustainable Mobility
Publication of the law with a 10-month transition period. The control document (DeCA) must be presented exclusively in digital form (PDF) and be retrievable through a QR code.
- 06/2026
Resolution of 5 June 2026 (BOE-A-2026-12784)
Technical standard in force: sets out the requirements of the document. It repeals the 2023 regulation and lays down the current technical requirements anew.
- 05/10/2026
The obligation comes into force
The control document (DeCA) must be available exclusively in digital form (PDF) and be accessible to the inspecting authority through a link or a QR code.
What has applied since 5 October 2026?
Since 5 October 2026 the control document — which until then could also be provided in print or through unstructured technology — must be retrievable as an original PDF (not a photograph) via a QR code from a database.
Who needs a DeCA?
Since 5 October 2026 the control document for commercial road haulage in Spain has to be available as a PDF with a QR code.
DeCA required
- Commercial road haulage within Spain, loaded and delivered in the country
- Journeys by foreign companies inside Spain (cabotage)
No DeCA
- International transport: the CMR consignment note applies, or the eCMR, which is not compulsory
- Own-account transport: proof that the goods belong to the company is enough
- Parcels, removals, vehicle towing and transport without an authorisation
How many DeCAs does one journey need?
One DeCA for a journey with several shipments from the same consignor, or several items in one shipment.
One DeCA per consignor when a journey carries shipments from several of them.
What every DeCA has to contain
Article 6 of Order FOM/2861/2012 sets the minimum content. The layout is free as long as every item is there.
- Contractual consignor
- Name or company name, tax number and address
- Actual carrier
- Name or company name and tax number
- Origin and destination
- Place of loading and place of delivery
- The goods
- Nature and weight, or another customary unit
- Date of carriage
- The day the shipment is carried out
- Number plates
- Tractor and semi-trailer, recording any change of vehicle
- Special authorisation
- Only for special transports: the identifier of the authorisation
- Remarks
- Reservations or other notes, where agreed
Who is responsible?
Both the contractual consignor and the actual carrier must issue the DeCA and make sure it is available in the vehicle. The rules do not say who produces it technically: the consignor is released once it can show that it issued the document.
Grouped shipments
A single DeCA covers several shipments when consignor and carrier are the same.
Dangerous goods
Two documents: the DeCA and the ADR document. If they are combined, the result has to meet the Resolution.
Technical requirements
The PDF must not come from a photograph and must not exceed 5 MB. No digital certificate or digital signature is required on the document. When you use DeCA Portal we make sure these technical requirements are met.
- An original PDF, not a photograph
- Maximum size 5 MB
- No certificate or digital signature
- Reachable through a QR code or link, valid for 14 days
Typical mistakes and what they cost
- A photo or a scan instead of a native PDF
- The PDF by email only, with no QR code and no address to reach it
- The link leads to a login or has already expired
- A file larger than 5 MB
- A printout without a QR code, or with corrections written by hand
- Missing mandatory data, for instance the number plate of the semi-trailer
€401 – 600No DeCA, or mandatory data missingArticle 141.17
€4,001 – 6,000Falsified dataArticle 140.9
€6,001 – 18,000Repeat offence within 12 monthsArticle 143.1 j
The company is liable as well when it is the driver who carries no DeCA, neither on paper nor on a phone.
How DeCA Portal meets each requirement
- PDF with a QR code and an address of its own
- A QR cover page on the PDFs you upload, a built-in QR code on the DeCAs created in the portal. Every document has its own address.
- HTTPS and direct download without a login
- The address behind the QR code hands over the PDF directly: no login, no download button, no cookie banner.
- Available during the transport
- The link is valid for 14 days, twice the legal minimum; the document also stays on the driver phone and opens without coverage.
- Kept for at least a year
- The company copy is available at any time, for at least a year and longer on request.
- The driver has the document before setting off
- Sent at once by SMS, WhatsApp or email, with its status and the time it was first opened.
- Changes during the journey
- Create a new DeCA as a copy of the original and send it to the driver. The driver must have the new DeCA before carrying on.
- Data protection and security
- Servers, hosting and software inside the European Union.
Information by sector
Construction sector
For the construction sector this new obligation is a particular challenge. Because supply chains are so interlinked, it matters who is responsible for issuing the control document and who has to pass it on to the truck driver. DeCA Portal lets every company register its drivers, even when those drivers work for several customers.